This invention features Multi-Dimensional Processing, which is an improvement in the basic computer architecture. It involves increased throughout by simultaneous or parallel operations on large amounts of data at a very high rate of speed.
Cuurent computer architectures follow a serial path of executed operations on a serially structured group of operands, and serially compute one answer to a given problem at one time. Many variations of this type of architecture are currently being explored. The goal of increased computational speed is largely thought to be possible by implementing multiple processors within one computer's architecture, with each processor operating on a separate segment of an overall process, thus achieving an answer to the problem in a much smaller time period. The complexity of the programming and hardware in a system of this type is very, very large, and involves a complete re-thinking of the computing process in general. Multi-Dimensional Processing, however, retains the traditional serial execution mode of operation, using one processor, with the exception that large amounts of data are operated on simultaneously. With the coming of "Artifical Intelligence" or "Machine Thought" terminology, the tasks of computers have changed from a "computationally intensive" environment, to one of "comparison intensive" tasks, involving huge data bases. These data bases might, for instance, contain textual information, such as in a "Rule Based Expert System," or possible large amounts of "Real Time" sampled numeric values, as relates to an Image or Sound Recognition system. Very large quantities of serially executed, consecutive comparisons must be made between the input data and the huge amount of data stored within the computers memory, such as Templates and/or "Real Time" sampled numeric quantities. This type of system is trying to mimic the human mind. This can only be accomplished, however, if the computer has the ability to "think" artificially via "snapshot" or "all at once" type data imaging.
The Multi-Dimensional Processing of this invention accomplishes this goal by introducing two new elements into the computer's basic architecture: First, data is reduced to its "lowest common denominator" and stored in a long, parallel memory chain. Second, a Variable Comparator, a new element unknown to computing science, is utilized. A Variable Comparable denotes programmable degrees of the "almost" condition. The two aforementioned archiectectural changes combined together, produce a new computer system truly capable of emulating human thought. This Multi-Dimensional Processing system running on a one megahertz clock can look at one million images per second, with full ability to recognize "close" or "almost" matches. The computer suddenly has the ability to estimate answers to questions with a very high degree of accuracy.